Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Not long later, Li Du heard a gunshot. However, it was unrelated to their campsite. The gunshot seemed to come from the area where the graves had been robbed.
Brother Wolf became cautious and arranged for the four heavy-duty SUVs to patrol around the area.
The results of the patrol were positive. The grave robbers had not come over to confront them. In any case, there was no reason for them to. The antique jewels had all been wrecked and it was unlikely they would be able to connect Li Du and his people to that incident.
After all, Li Du had only chatted for a short while with the blonde youth. He did not go near the grave or near the antique jewels that the people had excavated.
After a few more gunshots, there was silence. To be safe, Brother Wolf brought some of his men out for a look.
When he returned, Li Du asked, “What happened?”
Brother Wolf shook his head. “Not sure, boss. Those grave robbers left. It appears there was some sort of skirmish. There was fresh blood on the ground.”
To avoid any suspicions, Li Du asked with raised eyebrows, “Grave robbers? Weren’t they gravediggers? Or is it the same thing?”
Brother Wolf replied, “They are grave robbers. There is an area nearby that is an old cemetery. They dug up a coffin and destroyed the bones inside. That’s not what gravediggers should be doing.”
Steve walked out and asked, “What’s going on?”
Li Du started to tell Steve about what he had learned. Steve said thoughtfully, “The graves of aristocrats in the refugee town. Could they have found that graveyard?”
Steve’s interest was piqued and he started the car again to drive over to the graveyard.
Li Du had no interest in that because he knew there were only rotting coffins and bones left at the site, nothing of value.
Indeed, Steve went out excitedly but returned dejected. However, he was kind-hearted and got his bodyguards to rebury the coffins and bones that they had dug out.
After the sunset, the weather became chillier. A bonfire lit up the ruins of the refugee town.
Li Du sat by the bonfire and let out the little bug to see what new abilities it had developed. He only noticed, however, that the little bug had grown two more short limbs.
After some thought, he commanded the little bug, “Display your new ability.”
The little bug flew in front of him and flapped its four wings rapidly. However, Li Du could observe no change in it. He looked around the bug and everything looked as usual.
Li Du was just about to nod off when he noticed something strange. As the little bug flapped its wings in midair rapidly, they could barely be seen properly when they flapped at an increasing speed.
Very soon, Li Du realized that it was not because the bug’s wings had flapped so rapidly. The little bug had actually grown another two pairs of wings. That meant to say, there were actually four pairs of wings flapping. Hence, it gave him the illusion that the wings were flapping very fast.
The four pairs of wings then split apart equally, into two groups of two pairs of wings. Then the bug’s body started to split apart slowly as well. It was like a mirror image – the little bug had slowly split itself into two identical little bugs!
After the split took place, the two new little bugs were half as large as the old one.
Li Du’s eyes lit up. He tested his hypothesis and realized that he was able to control the two little bugs simultaneously. He was able to see from the perspective of the two bugs at the same time too!
Besides, both of the little bugs possessed the ability of Time Deceleration, Time Traveling and Space Creation. It was also possible for the two bugs to display different abilities simultaneously.
After making sure that he understood the full extent of the little bugs’ capabilities, Li Du recalled them.
When the two little bugs returned to his palms, they merged and formed a single bug again, a big flying bug with four pairs of wings and six pairs of legs.
Li Du had a good sleep that night. His mood had improved after the little bug developed its new ability. Although the sleeping environment was not great, he was still able to have sweet dreams.
Once the sun rose the next day, they would set off to search for the second mammoth cemetery.
Steve had been looking forward to that and said, “We are going to search for a mammoth burial ground after finding the graves of aristocrats in the refugee town. This adventurous trip has really been fruitful.”
Li Du said, “I only hope that the cemetery of the mammoths will not turn out like the graves of the aristocrats, with nothing worthy to pick up.”
Steve heaved a sigh and replied, “There should have been loads of precious jewels, gold, and silver in the graves of those aristocrats. It all must have been stolen by those d*mned grave robbers. Obviously, their internal conflict must have been sparked off by the money.”
Noticing that Steve looked dejected, Li Du smiled. “That kind of windfall is immoral and nothing good would come out of that. It is better not to go near that kind of wealth. Let’s go, let’s go look for the cemetery of those huge beasts.”
The scale of the map was too large. Like with the burial ground of the mammoths in the island cave, it was impossible to mark the locations on the map accurately. Besides, the location of the cemetery marked on the map looked blurry. It was in the middle of the vast Central Siberian Plain, which was an area that spanned thousands of square kilometers.
They arrived at a lone mountain after an accelerated ride. It was Mount Kamen, which was around 980 meters above sea level. It was an abrupt elevation that rose from the taiga ground. There was a sort of loneliness and awkwardness about the mountain.
Mount Kamen, meaning ‘stone’ in Russian, was made purely of rock. Even in spring, it remained dark in color. There was hardly any greenery on it and not many trees or grass patches grew on the mountain.
Steve told Li Du, “There used to be greenery on Mount Kamen. At some point, people needed a lot of wood to build a refugee town. The rich Russian aristocrats had chopped off all the wood from the mountain.”
After hearing that, Li Du let out the little bug and started to search for the cemetery of the mammoths patiently.
He thought the mammoth cemetery must be underground like the first cemetery they had found was underneath the lake of the island. There was no lake here, as it was only a vast plain. Hence, it would be harder for them to locate the cemetery.
Steve said, “Now, I really wish we had the nuclear magnetic detector we have previously talked about. What is the difference between what we are doing now and looking for a needle in a haystack?”
Li Du put on his shades and stepped out of the car. He said, “It’s never easy to make money. Let’s take slowly, buddies.”
The new ability of the little bug was just perfect to help them achieve their task. The two little bugs searched at the same time, increasing the efficiency twofold, allowing them to save time.
Ah Bai hopped off the car with Li Du and climbed onto his shoulders with agile movements. The monkey straddled his shoulders like a little child, surveying the surroundings curiously.
The two little bugs that had split into two mirror images entered Ah Bai’s brain and swiftly completed its evolution.
Li Du was surprised – the little white monkey trusted him so much. Based on his experience, the little bug could only modify the animals that had complete trust in him.
However, the little white monkey was already intelligent and extremely clever. Even after the evolution, Li Du could not tell any difference. He only felt that its eyes became more observant.
Li Du sent the two little bugs underground to start the search for the mammoth cemetery. It would be a waiting game and an activity that would require a lot of energy. There would not be much skills or technology involved. The task would rely just on the little bugs searching underground.
The land was sacred. The mammoth cemetery had existed for eons. Over the years, the Siberian taiga has undergone several geological shifts, burying the mammoth deeper underground.
The cemetery was very well hidden and if they were without the little bug or the treasure map, it would be entirely impossible to locate it!
